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  "Afraid so, asshole," Dunn replied lunging over a parking bumper and grabbing Marcus by his shirt. "It's payback time." Marcus tried to rear back, but Dunn had a firm handhold on his shirt. The first blow hit him like a jackhammer. His head bounced back as Dunn held tightly to his shirt and reigned blow after blow to his bobbing head.

  Seeing what was going down, Dunbar didn't know what to do. He'd been instructed by Tisdale to stay in his car and wait. As he picked up his cell to speed dial his boss, Tisdale roared into the parking lot. Leaping out of his car and ignoring Dunbar, Tisdale rushed towards Dunn.

  "I'll teach you to fuck with me," Dunn roared as he leveled another blow to Marcus' jaw. Marcus fell back, his shirt ripped in two, as his head smacked the concrete wall of the motel. He crumpled to the ground in a heap just as Tisdale ran across the pavement and tackled Dunn. The two big men rolled over on the asphalt and slammed into a light pole. Tisdale got up holding his arm and Dunn panted and gasped. The wind had been knocked out of him.

  Marjorie pulled into the parking lot just as Willy exited the motel lobby. Stunned to see Marcus lying in a pool of blood on the pavement, they both rushed over to him. "Marcus. Marcus. Wake up." She snapped her fingers in front of Marcus' closed eyes. "It's OK, son, you'll be OK," Willy said, placing his hand under Marcus' head.

  Fading. Going away. The feet around him were becoming foggy and blurred. He heard their voices, but not the words. He let himself drift away. Up and out of his body. Hovering above the light pole he looked down at the scene below. Is that his body lying on the asphalt? How odd. Why is everyone making such a fuss over him?

  "Maggie, its Ok I'm here," he shouted. "Willy, look up I'm right here. Why are you crying? I'm fine." It's so peaceful here now. Just floating. Not a care in the world. Floating higher. What is happening? Am I dreaming? Is this what death is? But there is no life after death. None at all. None at all . . . Drifting and floating higher into—nothing. A soft velvety, soothing darkness . . .

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  Namaste: I remember! I remember it all. My entire life as Marcus. Everything. It's all coming back to me. And I remember coming here to the Waymeet and meeting you Sumantra.

  Sumantra: Wonderful, my dear friend. Wonderful indeed. We are back where we started. You are ready to move on.

  Namaste: Move on? Move on to what?

  Sumantra: To remember who you really are.

  N. You mean to the afterlife? What happens next? Where do I go? What is it like?

  S. I shall do my best to give you a hint, my friend, but words will not provide an adequate description. So, see for yourself. You may have a brief glimpse.

  N. A glimpse of the afterlife?

  S. Yes, walk through the doorway vibrating in blue on your left. You may tell me what you experience if you wish. I will be able to hear you. If you lose your way or become disoriented, simply say my name, and you will return here to me.

  N. Just walk through the door? Just like that?

  S. Yes, Namaste just like that.

  N. And I will enter the afterlife?

  S. In a fashion yes. The experience will be similar to what on Earth is called a Near Death Experience. You will encounter the afterlife in a fashion but only for a brief moment. Then you will be gently pushed back here to me.

  With that, Namaste turned and walked cautiously through the blue door.

  I'm rushing down a tunnel of sorts. But it's not a tunnel. More like the inside of a whirlpool or what I imagine a wormhole would be like. Brilliant colors and geometric shapes surround me. It's like a ride down a smooth, gently curved water slide of amazing colors. Slowing down now, I'm gliding feet first, if I have feet, out of the whirlpool and into an open space backlit by a gorgeous cobalt blue.

  I've never felt so good. Otherworldly ecstasy. Bright, luminous light everywhere. Not blinding to the eye. A comforting light. Feelings of joy, peace and safety envelop me. No ground or sky. No boundaries of any kind. Everything is open. It seems as though I have a foot in both worlds. From where I am I can see and sense planet Earth. In the other direction, there is light.

  Nothing can compare with this. I know now that nothing dies, but only changes form. I am home. Life does go on! I understand now. I am not my physical body. That body is something that I did have, but it's not who I am. I'm not my body, and I'm not my mind. I am not my consciousness; I am something much, much greater.

  I see other beings around me. Beings of light. Vibrating, pulsating beings of brilliantly colored light. We know each other's thoughts without speaking a word. And time and space are illusions. There is no time. Everything is happening now. Impossible to explain.

  So much is happening at once. My thoughts are creating my reality. If I so much as think of being on a beautiful sunlit beach—I am there instantly. Intent is involved. On Earth, we travel to places. Here places come to us through our intent. Places and activities are springing up all about me. My thoughts are propelling me to and fro. I see a barrier that I am being told I may not cross. I'm being gently pushed back towards the whirlpool. Sumantra are you there?

  S. I am here, my friend. Come back.

  N. I didn't want to return Sumantra, but something or someone told me I must. I was pushed back here.

  S. Yes, Namaste, your brief tour concluded. Did you enjoy the ride?

  N. Did I? Yes! I've so much to tell you.

  I did seem to have a body of sorts. Not a physical body but a body nonetheless. I see now that the soul is larger than the body. The soul is not carried within the body but carries the body within it. The soul is not something waiting for me at my death. It is mine always. It's not something that I must save or redeem. It is something that I cannot lose. My personality as Marcus Reno is but one manifestation of my soul. All of the personalities that I have been and will be are manifestations of the soul. Mind boggling. I understood this in an all knowing way. Not just as an idea or a concept but as total knowing.

  It was like a very vivid dream but unlike any dream I've ever had. Somehow I knew that the universe was created in the same fashion that our .thoughts and dreams happen, spontaneously but with a built-in amazing order. We are multidimensional beings. We create physical stages on Earth upon which to act out our roles. We choose ahead of time the best conditions for our birth to another incarnation. Our soul knows the best conditions for its own development, in light of the time and place of its chosen birth. It has endless probabilities to choose from. But once the play begins we become so completely engrossed in our roles that we forget that we wrote the play and created the stage. All of our attention is focused upon one shining bright point that we call physical reality. It's all a big magic show.

  N. I want to return now. May I go back?

  S. Yes, yes, of course, but before you do, I have one very important question to ask you. It is the most important question that you have ever been or ever will be asked.

  N. And what is that?

  S. Would you like to go back?

  N. To the afterlife? Yes!

  S. No—Go back to the life you just left.

  N. My life as Marcus Reno? Can I do that?

  S. Yes. THAT IS LIFE’S GREATEST SECRET. The question is asked of all who pass over. Is their current life complete or do they want to go back? Your physical life ends when you have completed what you came to Earth to experience.

  N. Some people do that?

  S. Oh yes. In fact, many go back more than once.

  N. More than once?

  S. Most certainly. It is their choice.

  N. Where would I go back to?

  S. To the moments just prior to your death.

  N. But then I will die all over again.

  S. Not this time, Namaste. You will be inserted back in time to the moment before your death. This time your death will be averted, and you will go on with your life from that point.

  N. No shit?

  S. No shit Namaste! In fact, you did this once before in your life as Marcus.

  N.
What? When?

  S. Do you remember when as a young boy you played football and baseball with your neighborhood friends in the back yard of your home?

  N. I do yes. What fun that was.

  S. On one of those occasions you and your friends were playing tackle football. You caught a pass and struggled to keep running as two other boys had their arms wrapped around your ankles. A friend of yours named Frank Howard went airborne and threw himself at your back to bring you down. The ball flew from your hands, and you collapsed with a broken neck. You were gone.

  N. I remember that, but I remember falling to the ground just as Howard flew over my head. I was fine, and the game continued.

  S. Yes, but - You died when Frank Howard hit you and accidentally broke your neck. Your spirit left your body, and you came here to the Waymeet. You met me here. You decided that you had not completed what you came to Earth this time to experience. So you went back to the seconds before Frank Howard hit you and instead fell to the ground unharmed.

  N. Wow. If everyone knew this, they would never fear death again.

  S. Wow Indeed.

  N. And if everyone realized what really happens after death there would be much less of a reason to mourn a loved one's passing.

  S. Yes, mourning for them is the last thing a departed spirit would want their loved ones to do. Granted, that a spirits loved ones will honor their life by mourning and grieving their departure, but it would be less of a burden if they knew about the astonishing and miraculous realities that await.

  N. How will my death as Marcus be averted if I do go back?

  S. This time Roger Dunbar will not sit idly by while you are attacked by Roy Dunn. He will intervene, with Andrew Tisdale's help, and your life will go on. That is one probability. The other is that Marjorie will arrive a few minutes earlier and place herself between you and Roy Dunn thus stopping the fight. A third is that Roy Dunn will be delayed in arriving at the motel and miss you entirely. Numerous probabilities exist. We shall see which one occurs.

  N. So I may now return a second time?

  S. You may return as many times as you wish. It is always your decision. Return until you know that your physical life as Marcus is complete.

  N. Will I be able to proceed with the knowledge I've gained here with you?

  S. Not consciously, no. You will go back with no remembrance of the Waymeet or your brief glance of the afterlife or of anything we discussed. It will be like being born again. Complete amnesia of what happened before.

  N. Then I might make the same mistakes all over again.

  S. Possibly. Remember what I said about triggers and placing a mark on a tree? You may set a trigger prior to going back to remind yourself of something you want to change or perhaps accomplish. Or more importantly to remind yourself to wake up to who you really are.

  N. Why, yes, of course. What mark shall I make?

  S. That is up to you Namaste. It is your choice as always. However, there is no guarantee that once there you will recognize your mark so choose wisely.

  N. To help me choose, please tell me—what was my purpose for this last life as Marcus Reno? What task or goal did I set for myself?

  S. Only you know the answer to that question my friend. The meaning of the play is within you. And let me remind you that just the choice of coming back again and experiencing life is purpose enough all by itself. There is nothing else one HAS to do except BE. But let me hazard a guess. Perhaps it was to experience what it is like to cheat, swindle or take advantage of other humans.

  N. That is not a lofty goal. I would be happier if I came back to say cure cancer or to eliminate world hunger.

  S. Yes indeed but your primary goal is not to seek deliverance through changing the world but to awaken to who you really are. Again one might say that just the effort on your part, to return once again to another physical life, is a worthy enough goal. The experience as a human being is what matters.

  Remember, Namaste, you have brought yourself to the material world to remember who you really are. When you were born, you caused yourself to forget who you really are. You did so in order to play the great game of life. This game of life exists to teach us that we create the world that we know through our expectations and our beliefs.

  We learn, through multiple lives on Earth, that we form our own reality and that our power resides in the present moment. The greater goal or purpose of your soul is to fully realize itself while in the body. To become enlightened. In other words—to wake up.

  N. Perhaps my purpose for this last life is to tell others what I have learned here and to stress that there is no reason to fear death.

  S. Yes, perhaps. But to accomplish that you must first wake up and remember who you really are while in the physical world as Marcus Reno. In other words, you must Self-realize or become enlightened while physical.

  N. That's the ticket yes. I’ll leave a trigger for myself allowing me to wake up and remember all that took place here with you in the Waymeet. Or if not all at least a partial memory of this.

  S. That is a lofty goal indeed my friend. Now, do you want to go back to the life just lived as Marcus Reno? Or do you want to proceed through the passageway to the afterlife?

  N. I want to proceed to the Afterlife. But I have to make things right with Marjorie and Robert. I can't leave things as they were. And I want to tell others what I have learned here and to stress that there is no reason to fear death. Will the afterlife be waiting for me?

  S. The afterlife will always be waiting for your return. Always my friend. Remember you have lived 187 lives on planet Earth. After each life the Afterlife, your true home, was waiting for you. As I will always be waiting for you.

  N. Then I will return as Marcus Reno to complete what I came to Earth to accomplish this time.

  S. Are you sure, my friend?

  N. Quite sure.

  S. Are you ready?

  N. Yes. I have placed my marks.

  S. And what marks or triggers did you decide to place for yourself Namaste?

  N. Am I allowed to say?

  S. Why of course if you choose to.

  N. I have placed two marks. I am hoping that as Marcus I will at some point in time return to the bench in downtown San Diego where I first met Willy. A mark is placed there.

  My second mark is placed on another bench. The bench on Waikiki Beach where Marjorie and I first met and had a chat. I'm placing my mark there as a trigger to wake up to my purpose in this life.

  S. Very good my friend. A wise choice.

  N. What must I do next?

  S. Simply walk through the area vibrating in red on your mural.

  N. Just walk through?

  S. Yes. That is all you need do. Don't be afraid, Namaste. It is your life, after all. There is nothing to fear. Remember, death does not exist. You merely change form. You never die! Now go back.

  N. Goodbye Sumantra. I would say that I'll always remember you, but I fear that I may not.

  S. Not goodbye, my friend. Just a brief farewell. I will be cheering you on from the sidelines. If possible, I will send you a sign that you are on the right track.

  The mural expanded 360 degrees to a panoramic scene of all of Namaste's prior and future lives. Focusing on the area vibrating in red he walked into and through the mural…..

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  "I'll head to the lobby to pay our tab, Marcus," Willy said, picking his wallet up from the table. "Finish packing and let's haul ass for the airport." "I'm almost packed," Marcus replied from the bathroom. "Call a cab from the lobby and I'll meet you outside."

  As Roy Dunn was walking across the Pagoda's parking lot, he spied Willy leaving room 109. Dodging behind a parked trailer, he waited to see if Marcus would follow. Both he and Roger Dunbar spotted Marcus at the same time as he closed the motel room door and headed towards the lobby.

  "Hey, Reno," Dunn shouted as he walked briskly towards Marcus. "I'll have a word with you." Turning sharply to his left, Marcus stopped d
ead in his tracks. "Roy," he said looking frightened. "You're looking for me?" he asked anxiously.

  "Afraid so, asshole," Dunn replied, lunging over a parking bumper and grabbing Marcus by his shirt. "It's payback time." Marcus tried to rear back, but Dunn had a firm handhold on his shirt. The first blow hit him like a jackhammer. His head bounced back as Dunn held tightly to his shirt and reigned blow after blow to his bobbing head.

  Seeing what was happening, Dunbar didn't wait for Tisdale to arrive. As he made a dash for Roy Dunn, Tisdale roared into the parking lot. Leaping out of his car, Tisdale rushed towards Dunn.

  "I'll teach you to fuck with me," Dunn roared as he leveled another blow to Marcus' jaw.

  Dunbar, throwing caution to the wind, chop blocked Dunn just as his boss ran across the pavement and horse collared him. The three big men rolled over on the asphalt and slammed into a light pole. Tisdale got up holding his arm and Roy panted and gasped. The wind had been knocked out of him. Getting up on his knees, Dunbar turned towards Tisdale saying, "I'd better get paid extra for this boss."

  Marjorie pulled into the parking lot just as Willy exited the motel lobby. Stunned to see Marcus lying in a pool of blood on the pavement, they both rushed over to him. "Marcus. Marcus. Wake up." She snapped her fingers in front of Marcus' closed eyes.

  "It's OK, son, you'll be OK," Willy said, placing his hand under Marcus' head. As Marcus opened his eyes and groaned, Willy asked, "You alright, my boy?"

  "Huh? Yeah, sure," he replied groggily. "What the fuck? Can't see out of one eye," he said as he tried to sit up. "Don't move, Marcus," Maggie said applying pressure to the wound on his head. "Lie flat. You'll be fine. Somebody call an ambulance!"

  His head swirling, Marcus gave up trying to sit and promptly passed out.

  * * *

  Chapter Twelve

  The KGC

  WHEN MARCUS came to in the hospital, he was relieved to see Maggie and Willy by his bedside. "Marcus," Maggie cried, squeezing his hand, "What a relief. Your doctor was just here. You have a concussion and a few nasty bruises, but you'll be fine. All you need is a few days rest and some tender loving care."